Page 77 of The Gods Veiling (The Valorian Veil #1)

“Kyzen seems fascinated with holding your hand and Riven did it last week to channel his chaos. I wanted to see what the fuss was about.”

“Could you let her go and not make this an experiment?” Kyzen asks, tugging me slightly closer to him. All the action does is pull Amick and me since he doesn’t let me go.

“Have you never held someone’s hand before?”

“No. Why would I ever need to?”

“Different reasons, I suppose. So what do you think? ”

“About your hand? It’s soft, very smooth, just like the rest of your skin I’ve touched.”

That very skin he’s referring to breaks out in chill bumps.

This god, I swear.

“Why have you been touching her?” The subtle ire in Creed’s question is obvious, but I ignore him. He has no say in who can and can’t touch me.

“I meant the hand holding, but thank you for the compliment.”

“It’s strange but not uncomfortable. It grounds me in a foreign sensation that I find I enjoy.”

I press my lips together to hide my smile and look over at Kyzen as he chuckles quietly. Yemi seems fascinated by this entire exchange.

“I’m glad you find this experience or experiment, I guess, enjoyable, Amick.”

“Good because I plan to do it more often.”

My steps slow as I stare at the side of his face, dumbfounded. He doesn’t miss a beat as he releases my hand and walks through Yemi and me. Not another remark or a backward glance as he just keeps making his way to the Athenaeum.

“Bad, bad Thayla. So that’s where those yummy little feelings keep coming from,” Riven whispers in my ear.

I spin around, but his stupid laugh is all that lingers when he starshoots away.

My glare lands on Creed, who looks uncomfortable as his eyes move from my face to Kyzen’s and my hands then back. I wordlessly dare him to add any remarks.

He grunts, then starts moving in the direction of the Court. “I’ll see you later.”

I huff as I start walking once again. “Someone put something funny in the coffee this morning.”

“Yeah.” Yemi snorts. “I’m sure that’s what happened.”

I forcefully keep my face from smiling and hold the ungodly like snort in as the obsidian statues of the Beginning Gods loom a few feet in front of us.

Daily, I spare them a quick glance as I make my way to the Athenaeum, but now, I observe them closely. There are three men and three women. The goddesses wear gowns. The gods wear armor.

Kyzen squeezes my fingers to get my attention. “Can you identify each of them? Without saying their names preferably. I’d hate for one of them to overhear us.”

“Yeah, I believe so.”

From left to right, I begin.

“Goddess of Creation, God of Obliteration, Goddess of Seduction, God of Consequence, Goddess of Accord, and God of Chaos. ”

The difference between each, what makes them distinguishable, is the intricately carved letter on their chest that represents what they’re the god or goddess of.

Although there are two gods that start with a C, Derivius is obvious.

His face is smoothed out and his C matches the one branded on our wrists.

“That’s right. Do you know which one is missing?”

“Yeah. The God of Boundaries. Why is his missing?”

“He’s never had a statue or a temple here since I’ve been here. Maybe the gods’ way of showing him they’re angry at his disappearance. Maybe it was his own doing. I’m not quite sure and I don’t believe he’s ever answered anyone’s questions about it.”

Huh.

Maybe it’s because he realized his counterparts don’t understand what a damn boundary is, so he said the hell with this.

I can’t really blame him.

They’re each standing straight with their hands raised and perched right under the roof of the Sanctum. Just like the first impression I ever got when I saw them, they truly look like they’re holding it up, ready to protect it.

It’s hard for me to fathom that these gods who were created together by the Valories are having a secret war with one another. Spats and disagreements I can understand. That’d be normal, in my opinion, for beings as old as our realm, but war? One wanting to rule the rest?

I don’t understand why.

They were created equally. All with a purpose that served one another when they began using their powers to make the Domain gods.

Greed, boredom. Pitiful excuses are all I can come up with.

I can’t help the chill that travels down my spine as we walk through the giant statues. Their power still pulses everywhere in the Godsdawn but more so here than anywhere else.

“As we all know, I didn’t get to see much of my surroundings on the Veiling Day, but the platform that was set up right in front of the Sanctum, how does the Veil just appear there? Isn’t it in a room somewhere in here?”

“It is, but the side that you all walk out of is an illusion. It can be placed anywhere.”

“I swear I hear more about the Goddess of Illusion and her creations more than any other god. ”

“She has her hands in just about everything. She was one of the Beginning Gods’ first beings made, so she and her essence have been around for a long time. You’ll find her power in all of Godsden.”

I don’t miss that emphasis.

I really want to ask if he’s trying to say she’s now on the side of the Abandon or what, but I don’t as I hear footsteps coming our way.

My eyes widen at the person who walks around the corner. “Mrs. Akova?”

“Oh, well, hello, Thayla girl, and please, just Annalise. What a nice surprise seeing you. And with Kyzen. Well, that’s not really a surprise. How are you, dear?”

She holds her arms out and to my shock, Kyzen lets my hand go. His breathtaking smile lights up his face as he returns her hug.

“Couldn’t be better. What’s brought you all the way out here this morning?”

“Oh, you know, that lovely husband of mine left a scroll on the kitchen counter, so I rushed it here before his meeting.”

“Aww, your husband?” I ask with a smile. She didn’t mention her husband the other day. I bet he’s just as sweet as she is.

“Yes, of course, my Ellian.”

Ellian…Ellian…why is that familiar?

“Chancellor Ellian.” Yemi leans in and clarifies.

“Oh,” I say, a little disgruntled, then fix my face. “Oh.”

Luckily, she chuckles at me, then turns to Yemi. “And who might you be, dear?”

“Yemi Andino, ma’am.” Yemi bows lightly, but Mrs. Akova…Annalise tsks at her.

“None of that, sweetheart. The only person who bows to me is my husband.” She winks, causing Kyzen to gag and Yemi and me to laugh.

“Speaking of him. Thayla, I swear he isn’t nearly as bad at home as he is here when duty calls.

If he gives you too much trouble, you let me know and I’ll take care of him.

You must excuse me, though. I need to get to the children before they tear half of Godsden apart. It was lovely seeing you kids.”

She gathers some of her gown in one hand and waves repeatedly to us with the other. I can’t help the smile and small laughs that fall from me as she goes.

“She’s so sweet and funny. I never would’ve guessed she was married to Chancellor Ellian, and I didn’t realize she knew all of you. Well, I guess how she does makes sense now.”

Kyzen turns to me and cocks his head to the side. “What did Riven tell you about her when you met her? ”

“Nothing really, other than she’s the caretaker to the kids who were with her.”

He hums and I arch my brow at him. “She was our caretaker as well. We lived with the Akovas for our first few years here. Well, lived is a stretch. We were supposed to live with them, but we kept running away. Ellian was the one who talked the other Chancellors into allowing us to live in our house here rather than wait and they’d still check on us. ”

Color me shocked.

There’re so many small details, such as this, that I haven’t considered since he explained the little he did of their past. Now the questions in my mind run wild.

Have they always lived in the same house we now live in? Have they always lived alone? Did they live with their parents while that fucking god did whatever he did?

Their parents…

How could their parents allow this to happen? Were they forced to hand their children over? Are they still alive? Did they ever try to help?

“You still with me, gorgeous?”

I blink my eyes as Kyzen’s thumb runs across my cheek. “Sorry. That’s just not at all what I expected you to say.”

His face says he knows it’s more than that, but he doesn’t push. “Ready to snoop around?”

“Can we actually snoop or are we just going to look at stuff?”

Yemi huffs. “Don’t you think you got in enough trouble with Amick the other day when he caught you going through his desk?”

A sly smirk crosses my face. I wouldn’t call that getting in trouble. He used that stern, smooth tone on me as he lectured me. I couldn’t even focus on the words actually coming out of his mouth.

“I don’t believe she learned her lesson, Yemi.”

I did. Make more of a mess next time.

“Fine, we don’t have to snoop. Besides, everything here looks like it’ll cost me my life if I break it.”

“It’s so stuffy and glamorous. I hate coming here.”

I stop walking just as fast as we started and stare at Kyzen. “Then why are we here? Is that why you try to find stuff to do elsewhere?”

“I figured regardless, it was a good idea to show you around, and yeah, pretty much. My office isn’t like Amick’s where it’s been modified to fit my likes and needs.

It’s just a fancy office with a desk, books with the laws, and cabinets that hold my records of the conflicts I’ve had to mediate. It’s nothing worth showing off. ”

My frown deepens at his words. He said it all nonchalantly like he does everything else, but it makes my stomach hurt.

Out of everyone, Kyzen puts his opinions and feelings aside so he can accomplish his role accurately.

Him being biased wouldn’t go over well in certain situations, but I think he’s allowed that mentality to bleed out everywhere.

“Have you added any personal touches to it?”